


La Douleur Exquise

by eternitys_end



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Fluff, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Major Spoilers, Rating May Change, Spoilers, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-04
Updated: 2016-11-12
Packaged: 2018-08-19 11:09:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8203700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternitys_end/pseuds/eternitys_end
Summary: "What if...?". It was an idea that Akechi Goro had entertained more than he would like to admit whenever he saw the black-haired boy. Perhaps, in another lifetime, things might have been different.





	1. Serendipity

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't seen any Goro/Akira fics here yet, so I thought I would get the ball rolling, so to speak. Those of you worried about spoilers, don't worry, there's nothing here that you probably haven't already heard about. Most of this story will be just headcanons and whatever else the plot bunnies come up with.
> 
> As usual: Disclaimers: I do not own Persona 5.

Serendipity  
1  
“The more anger towards the past you carry in your heart, the less capable you are of loving in the present.” – Barbara De Angelis  
~~~  


When Akechi Goro first met Kurusu Akira, he thought he had found someone he could talk to, especially considering the younger male was actually a student from the same school Goro would be attending. Goro wasn’t sure what it was at first, but there was something about the black-haired teen that always caught his attention. After that first meeting, though, and after watching him, Goro came to understand what had drawn him to the other teen. 

Akira had friends, despite what Goro had heard about him and his reputation, and as time went on, Akira continued doing his own thing and it seemed to drawn in more people, adding to his circle of friends. Akira had everything Goro never had in his life. And it seemed, the more he watched, the more he began to both resent and admire Akira. He resented Akira because of everything he had, and yet he admired Akira for the same reason.

How could—

“Something wrong?” Goro is pulled back to the present by the voice of the very person he had been thinking about. They were both inside café Leblanc; Goro was seated at the counter as the black-haired teen stood behind it as he cleaned cups. 

“Huh?” 

Behind the glasses that were, in Goro’s opinion, too large for Akira, a pair of gray eyes reflected a hint of concern in their depths. “Usually you’re asking me nonstop questions about the Phantom Thieves and justice.” 

Goro hums as he looks down at the cup of coffee before him. “Is there anything wrong with wanting to just enjoy your presence without an interrogation?”

Akira, either unruffled by his comment or not quite understanding it, simply shrugs. “You tell me. You’re the one always asking the questions.”

Goro smiles a bit, “Does that mean you’re curious about me?”

Akira continues working, “I never said that.”

“Do you want to ask me something?” Goro presses, finding himself a bit curious. He suddenly realized that, despite all their encounters, he never truly knew anything personal about Akira, such as his hobbies or goals.  


Akira turns and puts away the clean cups and other dishes before looking at Goro again, “I’m not going to pry. If you want to tell me something personal, fine, but I’m not going to force you to.”

“You’re pretty kind.” Goro points out, earning a scoff from Akira in response. He was about to say something else when Akira’s phone rang. Akira reached into his pocket and pulled it out, making a face when he sees who was calling, but answers it nonetheless.

Goro silently wondered how someone like Akira could befriend so many people in such a short time as he had. How had his reputation not hindered him? How did Akira come to possess everything Goro had ever wanted in life?

Akira turns his head suddenly, a deep frown on his face as he continued speaking to the unknown person on the other end of the line, “Wait. I really need your help with this and…yes, I get that, but…no, I wouldn’t want to cause that…but I…” Akira exhales deeply, a resigned look on his face. “I understand.”

“What was that about?” Goro questions when Akira puts his phone away. “You sounded like you were in some kind of trouble or something.”

Akira sighs, rubbing his head. “No, it’s just…you remember how they announced that Syujin would be holding a ball this month?”

It wasn’t exactly news, though Goro hadn’t known the full details about this ball until he had asked one of his classmates about it. And, apparently, it was some kind of tournament between Syujin and other schools. The ball was held once every three years and was a way for each school to show the others how much prestige their respective students had, which was done in the form of ballroom dancing. 

“Well,” Akira continues. “I…don’t know how to dance.”

“Waltz, you mean?”

“No. I don’t know how to dance. Period.” Akira looked slightly embarrassed by this fact and averted his gaze. 

“But what does that have to do with you?” Goro questions. “I thought only a handful of Syujin students would be chosen to participate in—” Akira looks at him blankly. “Oh.”

Akira leans against the counter, “I did have an instructor who would teach me, but that call I just received was actually her. One of her relatives passed away last night and she’ll be attending the funeral, so she said she wouldn’t be able to help me.”

“The ball is being held this month,” Goro reminds him. “So how do you think you could manage to master waltzing in that time?”

“I don’t know. Try, I guess. I can’t just throw in the towel and hand it over to someone else. No one really seemed to care about this.” It really wasn’t hard to guess as to why. 

Still, Goro found himself a bit surprised by how desperate Akira sounded. “Why does it matter to you so much anyway?”

Akira hesitates, looking at the counter briefly, yet he slowly looked up to Goro again. “There’s a cash prize for whoever wins the whole tournament.” Goro arches an eyebrow.

“And that’s why you want to win?”

Akira shakes his head, “Never mind.” he maneuvers around the corner and reached for his bag on one of the chairs. “I think I’ll just grab a few books and see what I can learn and hope that it’s enough.”

As Akira walked past him, Goro turned and reached out, grabbing his wrist, effectively stopping him. “I wasn’t judging you, you know.” Goro points out. “In fact, I’m willing to teach you.” Akira turns to face him, a questioning look on his face.

“You know how to waltz?”

Goro smiles a bit, taking some pride in knowing that he knew something that Akira didn’t. “I am a detective, remember? A lot of my cases have taken me to some pretty weird places. And I mean really weird.” 

“What, were you a bodyguard for royalty or something?”

“That is confidential.” Goro replies, still holding Akira’s thin wrist. “So, how about it? Are you willing to listen to your senpai?” 

Akira’s mouth curved upward into a tiny smile as he turned around to face Goro completely, “I might as well. I doubt reading will help me much.” 

Standing up, Goro moved closer to Akira, “All right then. First,” Goro grabs Akira’s right hand in his as he positions their clasped hands. “This is called the closed position. See our hands? They’re positioned at shoulder height. Next…” Goro placed his right hand on Akira’s back and he pulled their bodies close, “Put your left hand on my shoulder.” Akira does so.”Now usually, music accompanies this, but we’ll just have to make due. We’ll take this one step at a time, so just follow my movements.”

Akira nods and Goro begins to lead. 

Curious, Goro asks, “Do these dance positions bother you?” 

Still distracted by the footwork, Akira replies, “Not really. It’s just dancing.”

“Hm. Maybe. But you do have to admit that it would look suggestive to anyone else.”

“Are you concerned about your fans?”Akira questions. 

“Not really.”  


“Then I don’t see what the problem is.” Akira steps on his foot. “Oops. Sorry.”

Goro shakes his head, “Let’s remove these for now.” He momentarily releases his hold on Akira’s hand and reaches up to pull the glasses from Akira’s face.

“Wait—hey!” Akira tries reaching for them, but Goro holds them out of reach.

“Like I said, just follow my lead. I’ll return these once we’re through.” He retakes Akira’s hand and they begin once more. 

In the quiet café, Goro found himself looking down at the black-haired teen, realizing it was his first time seeing him without his glasses. “Just as I thought,” The words escape his mouth, “You do look nice without them.”

Akira’s gray eyes widen a fraction at his words, and his head sharply looks up to meet Goro’s intense gaze. Then, Akira averts his gaze again. “Why do you always have to say things like that?” he mumbles. 

In truth, Goro wasn’t sure why. When he was with Akira, Goro was reminded of his ugly past, and yet, there was some semblance of comfort when he was in Akira’s presence as well. Essentially, it was…bittersweet.

Instead of answering Akira with the truth, Goro simply plasters on a smile, “Who knows?”Goro kept guiding Akira through the steps as silence befell the café once more. After several more minutes of this, the shorter male kept glancing at his feet and their surroundings, “Just focus, Akira.” Goro tells him.

“Easy for you to say. I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“Neither do we.”

Immediately, both he and Akira stop, turning their attention towards the entrance of the café, and they see all of Akira’s friends standing there. 

The speaker, Sakamoto Ryuji, looked between them. “What’s going on?”

Akira pulls his hand away from Goro, beet red. “Uh…we…were…dancing?”

“Yeah, that’s kinda obvious.” Sakura Futaba retorts. 

Akira exhales deeply, “I can’t dance.” He admits. “I was chosen to participate in the tournament so I found an instructor to teach me—”

“And that instructor was Akechi?” Niijima Makoto asks.

“I’m actually the replacement instructor.” Goro responds. “His other instructor had a family emergency and canceled on him.”

“So first you’re a detective, and now you’re a dance expert?” Sakamoto questions. “What next? Are you Batman?”

“Stop it, Ryuji.” Takamaki Ann tugged his ear roughly.

“Ow, ow, ow!”

Ann winks at him and Akira as she addresses the others, “Come on guys.” She looks at Akira once more, “We’ll just wait upstairs until you’re done. We had a few questions about the midterm tests and wanted your opinion on some stuff.”

“Uh…sure.”

The group filed upstairs, Ann dragging Ryuji by his ear the whole time. Once they were out of sight, Akira turns to Goro, “Thanks for offering to help.” He says. “Maybe we can continue training tomorrow. The others kind of get restless after awhile, especially Ryuji.”

“Sure. I need to go anyway.” Goro turns, only to stop as he remembered something, “Oh, I almost forgot.” He turned and held out Akira’s glasses to him. 

The black-haired teen pulled them on and said his goodbye to Goro before heading upstairs. Goro lingered for a moment, looking down at his gloved hand that had held Akira’s, but he quickly brushed aside any thoughts that tried worming their way into his mind as he turned on his heel and left Leblanc.


	2. Tatemae

Tatemae  
2  
“For it is up to you and me to take solace in nostalgia and our ability to create the everlasting from fleeting moments.” – Sanober Khan  
~~~

Kurusu Akira was the leader of the Phantom Thieves. 

Goro had suspicions about it originally, which was why he had befriended the other teen, and his suspicions were finally confirmed the day he started teaching Akira to waltz. 

Presently he was in café Leblanc, seated at the counter, as usual, and he solemnly looked down at the two pictures resting side-by-side; one a picture of Akira in his school uniform, and the other a picture of “Joker”, the leader of the thieves; the latter was taken and sent to the police department via anonymity, and was—at the moment—the only picture the police had of any of the thieves. Looking at the pictures of the quiet and self-conscious high schooler and the picture of the smirking, overconfident leader of the thieves, there was no doubt that these two people were one-in-the-same.

Take away Akira’s glasses and put him in that bird mask, and he was a perfect match. 

And yet, Goro knew that this would not be enough evidence. “It’s just speculation on your part” is what the other authorities would say; it would not be enough to convince them. And he couldn’t confront Akira about this either, at least not without solid evidence; something he could not worm himself out of.

He would have to keep playing his part, at least until he could uncover more about the true identities of the thieves. So that essentially meant he would have to get close to Akira, gain his trust, and hopefully Akira would let his guard down or slip up somehow. Then, Goro would strike.

“You’re here early.” Akira’s voice pulls him back to the present, the teen having just entered the café, closing the door behind him before he set his bag on one of the chairs and moved behind the counter.

“Ah…yeah.” Goro replies, still a bit distracted as he discreetly put the photos back in his pocket.

Akira began pulling on his apron, “I heard from one of the upperclassmen that you weren’t at school today.”

“I was called in for work this morning.” Goro responds shortly.

“I figured.” Akira grabbed a cup and poured some coffee before setting it down in front of Goro. “Just let me take care of a few things here and then we can practice.”

“Sure.” Goro reaches for the white cup, his thoughts drifting once more.

An entire week had passed since Goro had offered to teach Akira how to waltz and, grudgingly, Goro had to admit that Akira was learning fairly quickly. Sure, it took him awhile to learn each step that Goro showed him, but he wasn’t one to give up easily. 

Goro had to admit—again, grudgingly—that he liked Akira’s determination. 

After several moments, Goro began alternating between looking at the TV which was speaking about the Phantom Thieves, to the black-haired boy who was cleaning the counter.

“What do you think the goals of the Phantom Thieves are?” Goro couldn’t help but ask, breaking the silence between him and Akira. “What, exactly, is the meaning behind their calling cards? Is ‘Take your heart’ a metaphor? Or is it something more literal?”

Akira looks at him from behind a pair of glasses, “Why are you asking me?”

Goro bit back his desire to say: ‘maybe because you’re the leader of said thieves?’, and simply smiles as he responds, “Just curious.”

It all made sense now. Every response Akira gave him regarding the thieves was always ambiguous; he and his friends always seemed somewhat secretive, so it made sense that they were also part of Akira’s renegade group.

“Who knows?” Akira responds. 

‘You, obviously.’ Goro thinks before saying, “I wonder, though, if the thieves think that they’re actually doing good by forcing people to change their ways. It’s obvious they target individuals in positions of power, or those who have wronged them personally or those close to them. But…” 

Goro thinly smiles, carefully watching Akira’s actions and expressions. ‘Let’s see how you respond to this, then,' he muses to himself.

“In my opinion,” Goro continues. “That makes them no better than their targets.” Akira’s hand gripped the cloth in his hand tightly, and if he hadn’t been watching for any reaction, Goro was certain he would have missed it. 

“Maybe,” Akira speaks up after a few seconds. “One person’s idea of justice is another’s injustice.” The black-haired teen meets Goro’s gaze. “Our world isn’t so black and white.”

“True.” Goro eyes him critically. “Then I suppose this means you support the chaos and disorder that the thieves bring. You know, since you seem defensive of their actions.”

Akira’s eyes widen briefly, “What? No, I—”

Goro leans forward again, “Then you agree that they’re in the wrong?”

“No, I didn’t…I just meant—” Akira fumbles through his words, adding to Goro’s amusement, before he takes a deep breath. The façade was back in place again as he looked at Goro with a poker-faced expression. “I just mean that no one really knows why they do what they do.”

“Yes, but it doesn’t matter.” Goro notes the tiny frown on Akira’s face. “A crime is still a crime. If someone murdered a person you cared about, it does not make it okay for you to go and murder that person. Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

Akira goes quiet, looking at the counter with a thoughtful expression on his face as silence pervades. The quiet atmosphere, which has usually always been serene and welcoming, was now tense; awkward.

Goro exhales as he stands up, “Come on, let’s practice.”

Akira looks at him disbelievingly, “What? We just butted heads and now you want to practice?”

“I can be open-minded when I want to be.” Goro replies as Akira moved around the counter as he untied the apron and set it off to the side. “Rather than have everyone agree with my thoughts all the time, I do appreciate that I can have a bit of a rivalry with someone who has a different outlook.”

“Did it ever occur to you that, maybe, those people agreed with you because you’re intimidating when you want to be?” Akira counters.

Goro holds his hand out to him, “I’m not intimidating.” 

Akira accepts his hand, “Then what would you call it?”

“I’m charming.”

In response, Akira rolls his eyes, but his mouth twitched, as if he were struggling to keep from smiling or laughing. 

As they danced, Goro realized that he did, in fact, enjoy their little debate. There was a sense of peace, tranquility, that he felt when around Akira; that he could forget, even if only briefly, all the pain and anger of his past.  


That isolation that had been his sole companion for so long was now just a distant memory as he basked in the warmth of Akira. 

Even if this was all just an illusion, Goro wanted to hold onto it for as long as he could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story is going to be slow starting, so think of these chapters as being an introduction to characters, drabbles, or even just a combination of the two. The main plot will begin after another two or three chapters, and I know I said there would be little to no spoilers, but after going through my notes, I realized that this story was going to be a mess if I just jumped around the plot in order to avoid spoilers. So, unless you're okay with spoilers, I'm warning you now that there will be specific mild to major spoilers, so if you don't want anything spoiled, then it would be good to stop here now. And to those of you who are sticking with the story, thanks for the support and I hope you enjoy.


	3. Kairos

Kairos  
3  
“There is meaning in all things. But are you paying attention?” –Yasmin Mogahed  
~~~

The day of the ball finally arrived. 

Syujin was decorated in a grand style and was packed with people. Every person wore a formal attire for the ball, and the sight was a strange one from Goro’s perspective. 

Upon entering, the gymnasium was just as lavishly decorated as the rest of the school was; the tables were packed with an assortment of food, and ballroom music was already playing. Standing off to the side, Goro watches as two students move towards the center of the room, followed by a few other couples, who began to dance to the music. The women were dressed in classy gowns, and the men in formal suits.

Goro was grateful that he wasn’t one of the students chosen to perform in the tournament. This was probably one of the perks he truly enjoyed about being a detective. Because while he may have the skills necessary for this kind of situation, it really didn’t interest him or serve any purpose. 

As he leans against the wall, Goro pulled a handful of pictures from his pocket, looking at the incriminating evidence he now had of the Phantom Thieves. Previously, all he had was his speculations, but now he held irrefutable proof. 

That was his reason for coming tonight. 

It would be the perfect chance to confront them about this; to show them that they had been outplayed. 

But most importantly, it brought him one step closer to Shidou. 

Once he had crippled the Phantom Thieves, his next target would be his estranged father. Just a few more steps and he could finally, finally, get his revenge. 

He was going to enjoy making Shidou beg for his life.

Goro stored the pictures away once more, fighting the urge to smirk victoriously. He moved towards one of the tables, grabbing some punch. 

Suddenly, his vision is cut off by a pair of hands and a familiar voice speaks from behind him, “Guess who?” The tension leaves his body upon hearing the voice. 

“Well, let’s see…you can’t be Sae…” Mostly because she was in the middle of having her own Palace begin to form. “You can’t be one of my other coworkers, seeing as they’re still working…and you can’t be any of my fans—”

“It’s me!” The hands are removed, and Goro turns to face the raven-haired boy who he noticed was wearing a black tail-suit, “Really, you’re no fun.” Akira gives him an exasperated look. 

Goro found himself easily falling back into a routine with Akira, “It’s kind of hard to ‘guess’ when I knew it was you.”

“I believe the term we use to describe this is ‘fun’.”

After Akira’s training, Goro had been busy making preparations for the battle that was to come, and the younger teen had spent the remainder of his time showing the routines to his partner for the tournament; which, he might add, was something he had helped Akira with. So, with November just around the corner, this would be the first time he and Akira had talked face-to-face since Goro stopped teaching him. 

“Where’s your dance partner?” Goro questions. 

“She’s outside. Her boyfriend contacted her and said they needed to talk.” Akira glances towards the center of the room where other couples were dancing. “She doesn’t really have much time before it starts though.” ‘Talk’, huh? Well, that sounded ominous. When one person approached the other about “needing to talk”, it usually had to do with breaking up or, in nicer terms, “spending time apart”, without actually saying to the other person: “you’re suffocating me and I don’t want to be within ten feet of you anymore”.

Well, he really didn’t care about the personal affairs of other people, so he just discarded any thoughts of it just as quickly as they came to mind.

“Anyway,” Akira looks at him. “I’m surprised you actually came. I thought you might be busy with work or something.”

“In part.”Goro remembers the incriminating evidence he had of Akira and his fellow thieves. “I’m actually here to give a speech after the tournament.” Akira looks surprised. “It’s short notice, but I thought now would be as good a time as any.”

“So you found more info on the thieves?” Akira questions. Goro searches the gray eyes for any kind of emotion, but all that is reflected in the dark orbs is simple curiosity, and he silently applauded Akira’s acting skills. 

“Maybe.” He responds cryptically. 

“Ah,” Akira looks towards the entrance of the gymnasium. “There’s my dance partner.” He waves his hand to gain her attention and the girl made her way towards them. She wasn’t one of the thieves, and certainly not part of Akira’s inner circle. “Wakana,” Akira says as she approached them, turning to face Goro. “This is—whoa!”

“Come on.”

Goro blinks slowly as the young woman grabbed Akira’s wrist and dragged him towards the center of the room where the other competitors had gathered, just as the announcer came on over the microphone, telling them to take their places as the tournament was about to begin.

Akira shot him an apologetic look briefly.

“I feel really bad for Akira.” Goro turns to his left, spotting Akira’s friends standing there. They were dressed in classy outfits as well. “She is way too intense.” The speaker, Ryuji, watched the competition unfold with a scowl.

“Huh?” Goro wonders aloud. 

“Yamada Wakana,” Ann clarifies. “No one wanted to be her partner for the competition ‘cause she’s so serious about it.”

Ryuji crosses his arms, “I still don’t get why Akira was so gung-ho about the tournament.” 

“He mentioned a cash prize when I began teaching him.” Goro points out, turning his gaze back to the dancers. 

“Huh,” Ryuji answers. “That’s weird.”

“Akira’s never been interested in stuff like that.” Ann agrees. “What reason would he have for winning this?”

Goro didn’t know. Akira had seemed hesitant about telling him more about his reasons for wanting to win the tournament. Still, he had to wonder if it may have something to do with him being a thief. Perhaps he needed the money for a specific reason? No, if that was the case, then shouldn’t the other thieves have known as well? Unless, of course, Akira hid something from them, which really didn’t seem farfetched as Goro knew that Akira deeply cared about his friends and likely wouldn’t want to involve them with any of his problems. 

He watched as Akira moved across the dance floor, leading his partner, just as Goro had showed him. For a brief moment, Goro pictured the bird mask covering Akira’s features, replacing his glasses, and the white gloves being replaced by red ones. 

Goro drew his lips together in a thin line. Just a little while longer and his plans would be set into motion, and all he had to do was just be patient and wait.

~~~

Two hours had passed since the competition began, and Akira realized fairly quickly that he was, indeed, very lucky to have had Akechi teach him how to dance. If he had actually gone out and read books, then there was no way he would have made it to the final rounds. 

As a Phantom Thief—as Joker—he was good at parkour; an ability that seemed ingrained in him after awakening to his Wild card abilities. However, as a simple high school student, he finally found his weakness in ballroom dancing. No, scratch that, just dancing was a real pain.

So why was he doing it in the first place? Well, around the time he first moved to the city, he met an old lady who lived with three cats. She was a nice elderly woman, and she was pretty far in debt; so with little to money left to her name, she was going to lose her home. That was the reason why he took this tournament so seriously. Between juggling the handful of part-time jobs he had with his responsibilities as the leader of the Phantom Thieves, he didn’t have the time to raise the remaining amount of money he needed before she was evicted from her home.

This tournament was giving out three thousand dollars. It was more than he needed, but it was certainly the quickest way he could prevent the old lady from losing her home, and likely her cats too. 

Akira knew right from the start that getting too close to Akechi could jeopardize him and the other thieves, but he was confident that he wouldn’t give away their identities. But in truth, Akira had never expected to grow so close to Akechi in the short amount of time he was taught dancing. He’d like to blame it on the atmosphere that fell over them during those moments, or even the way Akechi seemed so damn honest with those compliments he paid him, but Akira knew better.

He let himself get too close.

“—congratulations, man!” Ryuji slapped him on the back, and with a start, Akira returns to the present. He was surrounded by his friends while the stadium was filled with clapping. 

“Huh…?” is the only intelligent thing he can say.

Ann snickers at him, “He’s so shocked, he’s lost the ability to talk! Quick, Mako, give me the camera! I wanna immortalize that stupefied look he has!”

“You won!” Haru exclaims happily, clapping her hands together. “Congratulations, Akira-kun, Wakana-chan!”

His dance partner scoffs, “Like I wasn’t going to win.” She digs inside the trophy before tossing the bag of cash towards Akira. “Here.” she says. “I don't need this. Consider it thanks for not slowing me down.” She gave them a brief wave as she left. “Later.”

As the excitement began dying down, the announcer spoke once more, and his friends turned to listen. 

Akechi, meanwhile, moved to his side. “Well, it looks like my training actually paid off.”

“So does this mean that the student has surpassed the teacher?” Akira replies jokingly. 

Akechi scoffs. “You’re still a thousand years too early to even pose a challenge to me.”

“I’m always up for a challenge.” Akechi reaches over with a gloved hand and pinches his nose, “Ack!” he smacks Akechi’s hand away, rubbing his nose. “What was that for?”

The detective ignores the question in favor of looking at the bag in his hands, “Well, you’ve won, so why do you need three thousand dollars, exactly? Or are you not going to share that little chestnut with me?” 

Akira looks down at the bag before turning to look at the clock hanging on the wall. They had time before the event ended. He reached towards one of the chairs where he and his friends had decided to sit and grabbed his bag, placing the money inside of it before turning to Akechi.

“Come on. I’ll show you.”

~~~

He wasn’t sure where Akira was taking him, but Goro followed without complaint. Curiosity nagged at the back of his mind, but decided to wait and see where the other teen led him. 

They ended up leave Syujin, and walked for about ten minutes until they reached a rather quiet area with a few houses. Akira led him to one particular house that was quite large and expensive-looking. They stopped several feet from it as Akira dug through his bag, pulling out the money, a pouch, and a pen. He placed the money inside of the pouch, sealed it, and wrote an unfamiliar name on it with the words ‘consider it a gift’ written beneath it. 

He motioned for Goro to wait there, and he quickly moved to the front door, knocking. A few moments go by before an elderly woman opens the door, and Goro watches as Akira hands the pouch of money to her, though from his position, he couldn’t hear what was being said.

Akira says something to her as she opened the pouch, and a look of disbelief crosses the woman’s face before she broke out into tears, her voice becoming louder and louder due to her exuberance, and he could make out the words “thank you” being chanted.

After about three more minutes of this, Akira turns and leaves and the woman thanks him once more before closing the front door.

“What was that?” Goro asks when he returns.

“She’s someone I met not long after I moved here.” Akira explains. “She’s actually the one who made Morgana’s collar.” Akira looks back to the house. “She’s had a lot of problems with debt; she had a history of medical problems too, and with no one to help her, she would have lost her house and belongings.”

It all clicks right then. 

Now Goro understood why Akira had been so intent on learning; why he had agreed to let Goro teach him. 

“I…see.”

Akira shoots him a smile, “Anyway, she doesn’t have to worry about that now.” Well, maybe not ‘now’, but there was no guarantee she would be safe from the same thing happening again in the future. A part of Goro wanted to tell Akira this, but he stopped, unable to do so.

If Akira had gone through all that trouble just to help an old bat like that, then did that mean he wasn’t…no. He quickly rid himself of that thought. It didn’t matter what Akira did, he was still a thief, and he was still Goro’s enemy. 

“Come on,” Akira says. “Let’s head back.”

No, he refused to be blinded by sentiment, not when he was this close to his goal. 

With resolution, Goro returned to Syujin with Akira, prepared to ensnare him and the rest of the thieves in his trap. He put aside all the friendly meetings he ever had with Akira; he ignored how a small, quiet, part of him faltered at the idea of betraying and, possibly, killing Akira. 

Nothing would change the fact that the Phantom Thieves’ story was about to reach its finale.

~~~

In another place, another time, a lone being watched the events unfold in quiet contemplation. 

“I see. So Nyarlathotep has finally broken concordance and intervened in the finely woven tapestry of humankind.” A deep sigh is released. “Then it seems I have no other choice. I will make my move soon enough.” There is a brief pause. “Yet I wonder…what your answer will be in this game, you who I call Fools.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I'm pretty sure some of you know who that is. It took me forever to properly get this chapter finished, mostly because every time I read through it, I just wasn't satisfied with how it was, so I kept redoing it. I'm sure you guys already know, but this will have some canon divergence; there will still be spoilers, of course, but I wanted to try something a little different from canon P5. Rant aside, hope you guys look forward to the next chapter.


	4. Morton's Fork

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With the recent news about a livestream of P5 on the 16th, I thought I'd work on a new chapter in celebration. Also, thanks to all of you who are still following, and I hope to give you guys a great experience with this story. I'd like to finish before P5 releases in 2017, but I'm still undecided on exactly how many chapters I'll have by the time I finish this.
> 
> That aside, I've been listening to "Dandelion" by Ivan Torrent, and I can't help but attribute it Akechi. Then there's "Farewell" by Cicada which I enjoy and feel really fits as the theme of La Douleur Exquise. Anyway, random note aside, hope you enjoy the new chapter, guys.

Morton’s Fork  
4  
“You’re always one decision away from a totally different life.” – Mark Batterson

~~~

“I know who you are. All of you.”

The words cause Akira’s blood to run cold as Akechi stared at him and the rest of his friends with a solemn expression. 

True to his word, Akechi had unveiled the fact that he had uncovered more information on the thieves, but he had cut the speech short, confronting Makoto and telling her he wanted to speak with them all.

“What do you mean?” Makoto questions. Though she tried playing things cool, it was quite obvious that this had also caught her by surprise.

Instead of answering with words, Akechi reached into his jacket and pulled out pictures, setting them on the table in the small storage room for them to see. They were pictures of Yusuke and Ann escaping from Okumura Kunikazu’s dungeon.

Immediately, Akira pales. He knew what this meant for them.

“T-that’s…” Ann stares wide-eyed, stammering as she desperately tried to find any kind of excuse to make.

“How did you manage to take these pictures?” Yusuke asks.

“Well, you guys aren’t as stealthy as you think. I always thought it seemed rather curious that each time the Phantom Thieves struck,” he looks pointedly at Akira. “Your little gang seemed to get another member. Then, of course, there’s this.” He reaches into his jacket once more and sets two new pictures on the table. Both were of Akira; one was of him in his school uniform, and the other was of Akira in his thief outfit.

“How did you get this?” Ryuji demands, glaring at him.

“It was sent in anonymously.” Akechi replies smoothly. His gloved hand points to the one picture of Akira as Joker, tapping it with his index finger, “It’s obvious that you’re Joker. I examined both pictures thoroughly; body type, hair style, even your height is the same.” He folds his arms over his chest, “Of course, it was easier to piece the puzzle together when I discovered the other world a month earlier.” 

“You know about Palace?!” Morgana exclaims suddenly.

“Whoa!” Akechi jumps slightly, his composure slipping, as he gapes at Morgana who had jumped onto the table. “Am I imagining—no, that cat definitely talked!”

Morgana bristles, “I am not a cat!”

“Wait, wait.” Ryuji steps in. “You can hear Morgana? How is that possible?” He looks to the others for help. “I thought only we could hear him.”

“That’s right.” Ann agrees. “So how can you? Unless…if you know about Palace, then does that mean you’re a—”

“Persona user?” Akechi nods, shocking everyone in the room. “When I discovered the other world a month ago, I was attacked by who I assume to be the real culprit. That’s why I said that I don’t think you guys are the ones who killed Okumura Kunikazu.” 

“You don’t…?” Haru questions softly.

“And so, that’s why I want to join you guys.” Akira blinks, stunned, as Akechi turns to face him. “I want to help you catch the real culprit.”

“Just like that?” Ryuji eyes him critically. “How do we know that you won’t go and stab us in the back?”

“And besides,” Ann adds. “What does this have to do with you?”

“This is a case I personally took.” Akechi answers. “I want to see it through to the end.” He shrugs nonchalantly. “Of course, should you refuse, I can always take these pictures in as evidence.”

“Damn you…” Ryuji clenches his teeth. The room becomes tense upon realizing they were caught. 

“This is your call.” Yusuke says, turning to look at Akira. “We’ll accept whatever decision you make.” Akechi turns to look at Akira once more, waiting.

Akira truly wanted to believe that things would work out. But after the death of Haru’s father, and now this, Akira had a lot to contend with. The Thieves were his responsibility, and he knew that one wrong move could end with them being captured.

But Akechi had limited his options. 

If he agreed to let him join, then there would always be the chance that his friends could be caught by the police at any given moment, and there was no telling what else could happen during that time. But if he refused, then they would most certainly be caught and imprisoned. There was no ifs, ands, or buts about it. It was a simple fact. And yet, he really wanted to believe Akechi was on their side. Looking at him now, it seemed that Akechi was quite sincere about wanting to join and help them, but why resort to blackmail if his intentions were good?

He could make every excuse under the sun, but Akira knew that Akechi had outplayed them. 

As their leader, he had to make a decision, so with resignation and a nod, he says, “Okay…you can join.” 

Akechi smiles at him, “Thanks.”

Regardless of what happens, Akira had made this choice, and he would bear the consequences of it.

Though some of the other thieves did not like the idea, they also knew that they had little choice.

Akechi turns to look at the others. “Now, before anything else, you guys should know that Niijima Sae has a Palace of her own, and it would be ideal to steal her heart so that she’ll be removed from the investigation of the Phantom Thieves.”

“What?!” Makoto exclaims, paling considerably at his words.

~~~

With their newest member, they went over the information that they had on Sae, ultimately agreeing that she was their top priority at the moment. So after investigating her palace, they decided to return to the real world and return the next day after they’re fully prepared.

Akira laid on his bed, silently going over everything that had happened that previous night. He couldn’t be sure he made the right decision, but he had to follow through with it.

“Akira.” Morgana leaps onto the bed. 

“Another nightmare?” Akira questions, letting Morgana curl up next to him on the bed. 

“No. I was just wondering how you were.” Akira reaches over and rubs Morgana’s ear. 

“I’m fine.”

“It’s not easy, is it? Making decisions like you did last night.” Akira peers down at the blue-eyed feline. “To be honest, I don’t know what I would have chosen if I was in your position. I’m actually glad I let you be our designated leader.”

“Yeah, but you’re like the de facto second-in-command.” Akira points out. “You showed me how to fight shadows and a lot of other things. You even told us about Palace and Mementos. Without you, we would have been running in circles.”

Morgana’s tail waved back and forth happily from the praise, “You’re right! Maybe I should sit on that blonde monkey’s face to establish that fact.” Morgana moved until he laid on Akira’s stomach, “You, our fearless leader, at the top; and me, your strong and loyal companion!”

Akira reaches up to rub Morgana’s ear, “Don’t forget cute and fluffy.”

“H-hey! Watch it! I was human once!” 

“Heh, right. Sorry.” Akira stared up at the night sky, visible from the window in his room. “You know, even though I decided to face whatever happened, I can’t shake this feeling that something is wrong. I don’t just mean with Akechi, I mean this whole thing with Palace, demons, Personas, and Mementos. I can’t help but feel that we’re missing something.”

Morgana hums. “I don’t know. Maybe if I had all my memories, I might be able to answer that. Or, maybe we once put an end to Palace, we might learn the answer then.”

Akira closes his eyes, “Yeah…maybe.”

~~~ 

“You are a slave. A “destined slave” whose future is sealed in advance. In this game…you likely have no chance of winning. But if you can hear my voice, then there is a possibility. Please, win this game, and save the world. The key to reverse your fate is the bonds from your memories; the truth you have grasped with your friends. Everything began half a year ago…the day this game started. Please, recall your memories…for the future of the world, and yourself.”

~~~

“Joker!” His eyes open, and Akira finds himself standing in an unknown location, dressed in his thief outfit. He hears the others call out to him frantically, but he is unable to tear his gaze away from the sight before him. 

There, in front of him, were two copies of Akechi.

One was crouched on the ground; he wore a black and red outfit with a visor. He was bruised, as if he had been fighting, and Akira only just noticed how he and the other thieves stood opposite of him, sporting wounds of their own.

Were they…fighting each other?

Then there was the other Akechi. He wore his typical gray coat, black pants and gloves, and striped tie, but there was something…off. He had a gun pointed at the crouched Akechi with a twisted look on his face. The other Akechi seemed darker than what he remembered Akechi to be; his expression was grim and full of resentment, and yet this Akechi felt more real than the other one.

“Kill them.” the Akechi with the gun commands the other. “Or are you too pathetic to even do that?”

The crouched version—the real Akechi, he thought—turned to Joker, eyes devoid of any emotion, as he pointed his gun at him, “Joker!” the other thieves called out in alarm.

But Akechi turned the gun and shot his other copy before he shoots straight past Akira and hit a switch on the wall. Akira struggled to move, but his body refused to respond to him as he was forced to watch both versions of Akechi point their guns at each other.

Just as gunshots echo through his head, Akira wakes up with a start. 

“Akira?” Morgana lifts his head, having felt the bed shift as Akira sat up and raked a hand through his dark hair as he tried to calm himself. His feline partner sat up, “What is it?”

“Nothing…just a nightmare.”Akira took a shaky breath, trying to desperately calm his nerves. He sighs deeply, “Morgana, is it possible to…I-I mean…is it possible for two copies of a person to exist at once?”

“Like a shadow?” Morgana asks.

“I…don’t know.”

“Is this about that nightmare?” Akira simply nods. “Hm…I’m not sure. I only know things about Palace that I’ve seen first-hand. Shadows exist, as you’ve seen with Ann, but two copies of the same person that isn’t a shadow? That, I don’t know.”

“I…I had this dream about seeing two versions of Akechi.”

“Was one a shadow?”

He shakes his head. “I don’t think so. Unlike Ann, neither had yellow eyes. They were dressed differently, though. One wore the usual suit we see him in, and the other wore a black and red outfit with a visor.” He looks hopefully at Morgana. “Do you know why I had that dream?”

“No.” Morgana’s tail twitches anxiously. “It could be nerves. You were already stressing over letting him join. Maybe this is some kind of psychological thing? Like your mind creating the dream based off of your concerns, maybe?”

Akira sighs again, “I don’t know. It felt…real.”

“From what I know, dreams usually feel that way.” Morgana curls up next to him. “Don’t let it get to you, Joker, it’s just a dream.”

“…maybe you’re right.” He laid back down, staring up at the ceiling. 

Even so, he thought, he couldn’t shake the feeling that it meant something.

~~~ 

The next day, as the group entered Sae’s Palace, Akira shifted his gaze toward Akechi. The detective had revealed his Persona, Robin Hood, when they first entered the casino the day before, and Akira looked at the white outfit that he wore. It looked nothing like the one he saw from his dream, so a sense of relief washed over him as he realized that, maybe, Morgana was right, and it had all been something his mind had concocted because of his worries.

Feeling his gaze, Akechi turns, and a pair of brown eyes stare back at him from behind the pointed red mask he wore. “Ready?” Akechi questions, and Akira nods in confirmation as he formed a team consisting of himself, Yusuke, Morgana, and Akechi. Once the team was decided, they entered the casino.

But little did Akira know what awaited him at the end.


End file.
